SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Frank Serratore didn’t want his son to play for the Gophers.

The University of Minnesota played too much of a skill-based game, he felt, and his son, Tom, wasn’t a skill-based player. It didn’t seem like a match, and yet Tom wanted to visit after being recruited by Don Lucia, so Serratore went with him.

They toured the facilities and listened to Lucia’s pitch in the coach’s office. Finally, Frank had heard enough. He excused his son so he could get to the issue that was bothering him.

“I said, ‘What’s the deal, Lucia? He ain’t a glamour queen.’” Serratore recalled. “He goes, ‘Frank, he ain’t a glamour queen and that’s why we want him. We’ve got enough glamour queens.’ My biggest testament to that Minnesota program is that I let my son go there. And I never thought my son would play much when he went there. But one thing I knew is if he went there, he was going to be mentored by one of the finest people...